Product Description
The Superior Hawaiian subliminal CD is designed to super charge your brain to learn Hawaiian faster and easier than ever imagined. Most people struggle when they try to learn Hawaiian, but now you don't have to because subliminal programming can prime your brain to acquire the language rapidly.All you have to do is continue the same Hawaiian classes or reading material that you're studying now and listen to this CD to accelerate your learning ability. It won't teach, but it will turn you into an Hawaiian learning machine.This CD contains 6 ten minute subliminal sessions to choose from. Each session contains the same subliminal suggestions carefully crafted by hypnotist Alex Armani, CHT. You get to choose which track(s) to listen to!Successful people across the world are using subliminal programming to help them correct bad habits, improve their health, and acquire new languages faster than ever possible before. Subliminal programming means you will hear NO AUDIBLE VOICE because it has been masked in order to bypass your conscious filters. This gives the suggestions the ability to directly impact your subconscious mind for maximum impact.Using this CD for a long period of time will increase your desire and ability to speak and understand Hawaiian when exposed to the language. This will accelerate your learning. It does not actually teach Hawaiian because it primes your brain for rapid learning only.These sessions were designed for use at any point in your day or night. You can listen intently or play it in the background. This CD only features 6 subliminal audio tracks to choose from including ocean waves, rain, thunder storm, bird song, whale song, and hypnotic music. ... Read more

Product Description
It is becoming more and more a matter of regret that a larger amount of systematic effort was not established in early years for the gathering and preservation of the folk-lore of the Hawaiians. The world is under lasting obligations to the late Judge Fornander, and to Dr. Rae before him, for their painstaking efforts to gather the history of this people and trace their origin and migrations; but Fornander's work only has seen the light, Dr. Rae's manuscript having been accidentally destroyed by fire.

The early attempts of Dibble and Pogue to gather history from Hawaiians themselves have preserved to native and foreign readers much that would probably otherwise have been lost. To the late Judge Andrews we are indebted for a very full grammar and dictionary of the language, as also for a valuable manuscript collection of _meles_ and antiquarian literature that passed to the custody of the Board of Education.

There were native historians in those days; the newspaper articles of S. M. Kamakau, the earlier writings of David Malo, and the later contributions of G. W. Pilipo and others are but samples of a wealth of material, most of which has been lost forever to the world. From time to time Prof. W. D. Alexander, as also C. J. Lyons, has furnished interesting extracts from these and other hakus.

The Rev. A. O. Forbes devoted some time and thought to the collecting of island folk-lore: and King Kalakaua took some pains in this line also, as evidenced by his volume of "Legends and Myths of Hawaii," edited by R. M. Daggett, though there is much therein that is wholly foreign to ancient Hawaiian customs and thought. No one of late years had a better opportunity than Kalakaua toward collecting the _meles_, _kaaos_, and traditions of his race; and for purposes looking to this end there was established by law a Board of Genealogy, which had an existence of some four years, but nothing of permanent value resulted therefrom.


Download Hawaiian Folk Tales Now! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

review of SPOKEN HAWAIIAN by Elbert
this is an excellent book for learning the essentials of the Hawaiian language. Recommended as a first book.

Learn Hawaiian without sounding like Forrest Gump
Full disclosure: I have an MA in Linguistics from the Univ. of Hawaii.I did not learn Hawaiian from this book, but I have used it since to teach classes on the mainland.It is not the newest Hawaiian grammar, nor one of the ones the Hawaiian people are now using in immersion schools for their kids, but it is the best for mainlanders in my opinion because:

(1) It is laid out in an easy-to-use fashion;
(2) It doesn't start with "what is your name," telling time and the weather.

Honestly, do you go around talking about names, the time and the weather in English?You would sound like Forrest Gump.This is my biggest beef with language texts, and I have no clue how adults can be motivated to learn from such books.

Spoken Hawaiian starts out with a simple, unbelabored intro to pronunciation--which can be pretty scary for a mainland English-only speaker--and goes immediately to a short list of Hawaiian words used in English on the Islands.Even mainlanders may know some of these (like "aloha" and "kahuna") and be comforted.

Then the book gets right into simple sentences and dialogues that at least attempt to have a non-insulting, plausible context to them.(Life is not like a box of chocolates in this grammar book.)

Spoken Hawaiian was written by a pro linguist who also taught the language, and the benefit of this is that grammar is spoon-fed, little by little, in the guise of sentence "patterns" that are then practiced in exercises that expand knowledge gradually.Hawaiian grammar is really different from English, and for presenting it to learners, this is the least confusing book I've seen.

The drawback is that the book is old, from the time when only academics and other dilettantes, and maybe the occasional hula student, really wanted to know Hawaiian.The spelling of certain words is outdated, and the vocabulary is limited.Newer books, like Olelo Oiwi by Hokulani Cleeland, provide newer words and a ton more info on usage, social context, geographic dialect variations, etc.

Olelo Oiwi (which means 'native language') was put out by a group that is working to revive Hawaiian as a native language.Anyone who really wants to get with the program and has a political or social commitment to Hawaii will want to use it.But I find its layout wordy and confusing for newcomers on the mainland, who really want just to know the basics, or want to converse about non-Hawaiian topics.(I am teaching serious hula students/culture learners on the East Coast; both Hawaiian and haole.)

For mainlanders, including ethnic Hawaiians with little contact back home, I would suggest Spoken Hawaiian first, and using Olelo Oiwi as a follow-on and review book.If you're going to be living in Hawaii and/or travelling in Hawaiian cultural circles, though, you're going to want to get into Olelo Oiwi as soon as possible, even if it means learning to count, tell time, and talk about the weather first.The Hawaiian people are serious about getting their language back, and serious students need to follow the current cultural wave.

Pro linguists, too, will probably want to see what Hokulani Cleeland has to say, and it's a rich source of knowledge.But in my opinion, the graphical layout of Olelo Oiwi is heinous.Most of the (vast) info in it is probably better presented conversationally by a standup instructor; and for all I know, that's how it's used in classrooms in Hawaii.Trust me that you need to be devoted to the language, or languages in general, to plow through the notes, or to determine what you are supposed to be doing with the oddly formatted practices and drills in Olelo Oiwi.

Spoken Hawaiian, by contrast, is a breeze to use for high-school age and up.It builds grammar and vocabulary slowly, without troubling the learner's mind with too much detail and variation, and ends with several samples of "real" written Hawaiian, taken from documents from the 1800's.(This book was written before the current resurgence of native speakers.)If you study with Spoken Hawaiian and follow through with it to these documents, I think you'll feel very happy with what you've accomplished; and you'll be well prepared to partake of the more up-to-date sources.

Spoken Hawaiian is the definitive book on Hawai'ian grammar
Combining fascinating information on Hawai'ian culture together with comprehensive grammatical explanations, Spoken Hawaiian goes above and beyond most other foreign language texts, allowing the reader to slowly become fully immersed. For anyone learning Hawai'ian from the very start, or interested in Hawai'ian culture, this book is a must ... Read more

Product Description
A handy pocket introduction to Hawaiian,with popular expressions, names, and over 2,000 English to Hawaiian words. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Not a Good Primer
This book has been reprinted with at least three different covers (see my images), but the content inside has remained exactly the same. It is not a good primer of the Hawaiian language and if you would like one, there are several better alternatives. I have previously reviewed this booklet and at that time, I gave it 2 out of 5 stars. I was too generous, it only deserves one star. It is sorely deficit as a reference and as a primer.

Be wary of this booklet as a beginning to the learning of the Hawaiian language, because for one reason, this booklet neglects the 'okina (glottal stop) and kahako (macron), two "elements" that are essential to the Hawaiian language and it might confuse anyone unfamiliar with every aspect of Hawaiian spelling or any casual reader. Also there is no discussion of Hawaiian diphthongs (two vowels pronounced together as one syllable) like the "ai" in Hawai'i and Waikiki. For instance "MAIKAI" (meaning "fine") is given as a one of the 13 "Popular expressions". It might seem that there are two "ai" diphthongs and that "MAIKAI" is a two syllable word, but the spelling is actually "MAIKA'I". There is an 'okina between the last "a" and "i" and indicates that there is only one "ai" diphthong and that it is a three syllable word (Mai-ka-'i).

If you want something like "Let's Learn a Little Hawaiian", I recommend All About Hawaiian (Kolowalu Books) as being somewhat similar in concept as a small pocket guide, but much, much better and more complete than "Let's", in that it much more fully discusses pronunciation and includes the 'okina and kahako. "All About Hawaiian" not only gives the English translation to untold Hawaiian words, but also has a seven page English to Hawaiian word section. See my review of All About Hawaiian (Kolowalu Books).

I recommend the following alternatives to "Let's" in order of preference:
1st - All About Hawaiian (Kolowalu Books)
2nd - A Pocket Guide to the Hawaiian Language (Things Hawaiian) (Things Hawaiian)
Tied for 2nd - An Easy Guide to the Hawaiian Language
4th - Instant Hawaiian

Another reviewer says that "Let's" is a "take along quick dictionary." If you want a "take along quick dictionary", get the really thing. Spent 2 dollars more for the New Pocket Hawaiian Dictionary: With a Concise Grammar and Given Names in Hawaiian and get something that is more than a hundred times better. It is the condensed and abridged paperback edition of the Hawaiian Dictionary: Hawaiian-English, English-Hawaiian. The University of Hawaii Press Hawaiian Dictionary by the revered and beloved Mary Kawena Pukui and Samuel H. Elbert is perhaps the most important reference book of the Hawaiian language. The paperback edition has a grammar section, which "Let's" lacks and also has a name section like "Let's". "Let's" only has an English to Hawaiian word list (I wouldn't call it a dictionary), but the paperback edition of the Pukui/Elbert Hawaiian dictionary has both an English to Hawaiian section and a Hawaiian to English section. So if you see or hear a Hawaiian word, you can look it up, but with "Let's", you are out of luck.

I have this book, because I collect Hawaiiana books. I recognize its short comings, but the casual reader or novice of the Hawaiian language might be mislead by its deficiencies. If you want to learn a little Hawaiian this is NOT the book for you. I suggest the title of thisbook should be "Let's Learn a VERY LITTLE Hawaiian and get Confused, Disorientated and Mislead."

A handy little book!
Let's Learn a Little Hawaiian is a handy little pocket-sized book.It gives translations of many male and female names into Hawaiian versions.The English to Hawaiian list is fairly extensive, and the Hawaiianexpressions are cute.The only thing this book lacks is grammar.But fora take along quick dictionary, this book is great! ... Read more

Product Description
Mamaka Kaiao adds to the 1998 edition more than 1,000 new and contemporary words that are essential to the continuation and growth of ka 'olelo Hawai'i--the Hawaiian language. The title, which in English means "carrying forward into the dawning of a new era," emphasizes the role of this work in providing today's speakers and students of Hawaiian with a modern vocabulary.

This dictionary opens with a detailed description of how words are created by the Hawaiian Lexicon Committee with Puku'i and Elbert's Hawaiian Dictionary serving as the primary written source and native speakers of Hawaiian as the primary spoken resource. The first main section contains more than 6,000 Hawaiian entries (alphabetized according to the Hawaiian alphabet) followed by their English equivalents; the second contains English language entries followed by their Hawaiian translation. Teachers and students in Hawaiian language immersion schools and high school, college, and continuing education language courses, as well as those looking for an introduction to contemporary Hawaiian, will find Mamaka Kaiao a truly invaluable resource. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Important Dictionary
"Mamaka Kaiao" is a good dictionary and an important contribution by the "Hawaiian Lexicon Committee" to the Hawaiian language. It expands the vocabulary to include words for things and concepts for which previously there were no Hawaiian words. As stated in the book, it is "...to serve as a companion to the Hawaiian Dictionary by Puku'i and Elbert [PE]." The PE dictionary (Hawaiian Dictionary: Hawaiian-English, English-Hawaiian) is perhaps the most important reference of the Hawaiian language.

I have only one objection to this dictionary, their editorial decision to use Hawaiian alphabet order to alphabetize the Hawaiian to English section. The following is the standard order of the Hawaiian alphabet as used in the "Mamaka Kaiao":

a e i o u h k l m n p w ' ('okina)
with the rest of the English alphabet following in order
b c d f g j q r s t v x y z

The PE dictionary uses English alphabet order and gives no significant importance or weight to the 'okina or the kahako when alphabetizing. Why not use the convention established by the PE dictionary, since "Mamaka Kaiao" is billed as a "companion" to the PE dictionary? Why use Hawaiian alphabetization? To be different and/or to be Hawaiian? Well, it is different, but there is nothing Hawaiian about it. There is a historical reason for the so called Hawaiian alphabet order, it was the order established in early Hawaiian instructional materials, like the Hakalama chart. However the Hawaiian letters ARE in English order, they have only been grouped into the Hawaiian vowels first, in English alphabet order (a, e, i, o, u), followed by the Hawaiian consonants, in English alphabet order (h, k, l, m, n, p, w, ') with the 'okina at the end. What a coincidence, eh?

I think it likely that the "Hawaiian Lexicon Committee" wanted to throw off their perceived shackles of servile bondage to un-Hawaiian, imperialistic western ways of arrangement and order, and decided to be different, simply because they could. They could thumb their collective nose at western hegemony and demonstrate their independence by failing to kowtow to English convention. "The Hawaiian Lexicon Committee" provides no explanation in the book of their rational and I have no special insight into their thinking, but this seems to me as likely an explanation as any. Radical extremist, separatist ideology seems to have prevailed over good reasoning and common sense. Different can be good, I like different, it is one reason why I admire the Hawaiian language, but to be different just for the sake of being different with no other apparent good reason, seems to me pure lunacy. Why must we go through the difficulty of using a different alphabet order when everyone is familiar with their abc's?

This is a fine example of how being educated or knowledgeable doesn't mean you are always going to make intelligent decisions, even in areas of your own expertise. An awful decision made by committee and perhaps an example of a "cluster [...]." While the "Mamaka Kaiao" is a great contribution to the Hawaiian language, it does a tremendous disservice to its readers by requiring them to learn and adapt to a different alphabet order. It also does a disservice to the Hawaiian language itself by adding a extra burden to Hawaiian language students. With the language in a precarious position, struggling to survive in the modern world, you would think "The Hawaiian Lexicon Committee" and any other promoter or advocate of the Hawaiian language would strive to reduce or eliminate every unnecessary obstruction and barrier to the Hawaiian language and those who would like to learn it.

Pau Pele, pau mano!

A must for students of the hawaiian language
Along with the dictionary and the grammer by Pukui and Elbert, this is a required book for anyone who wants to understand and use modern hawaiian.The dictionary gives us an understanding of the ancient language, but this book allows us to express words like printer and carbohydrate in ke `olelo (the language). ... Read more

Product Description
Includes a guide to pronouncing Hawaiian words, a chronology of Hawaiian history, a historic dictionary of Hawaiian communities, and a dictionary of Hawaiian street names; illustrated. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Maui Street Names Review:
This book is great!This one book combines Maui's history and Hawaiian language.It's a great resource for information and I highly recommend it's purchase.
Aloha,
Brian ... Read more

Product Description
PREFACE


This work of translation has been undertaken out of love for the land of
Hawaii and for the Hawaiian people. To all those who have generously aided
to further the study I wish to express my grateful thanks. I am indebted to
the curator and trustees of the Bishop Museum for so kindly placing at my
disposal the valuable manuscripts in the museum collection, and to Dr.
Brigham, Mr. Stokes, and other members of the museum staff for their help
and suggestions, as well as to those scholars of Hawaiian who have
patiently answered my questions or lent me valuable material--to Mr. Henry
Parker, Mr. Thomas Thrum, Mr. William Rowell, Miss Laura Green, Mr. Stephen
Desha, Judge Hazelden of Waiohinu, Mr. Curtis Iaukea, Mr. Edward
Lilikalani, and Mrs. Emma Nawahi. Especially am I indebted to Mr. Joseph
Emerson, not only for the generous gift of his time but for free access to
his entire collection of manuscript notes. My thanks are also due to the
hosts and hostesses through whose courtesy I was able to study in the
field, and to Miss Ethel Damon for her substantial aid in proof reading.
Nor would I forget to record with grateful appreciation those Hawaiian
interpreters whose skill and patience made possible the rendering into
English of their native romance--Mrs. Pokini Robinson of Maui, Mr. and Mrs.
Kamakaiwi of Pahoa, Hawaii, Mrs. Kama and Mrs. Supe of Kalapana, and Mrs.
Julia Bowers of Honolulu. I wish also to express my thanks to those
scholars in this country who have kindly helped me with their criticism--to
Dr. Ashley Thorndike, Dr. W.W. Lawrence, Dr. A.C.L. Brown, and Dr. A.A.
Goldenweiser. I am indebted also to Dr. Roland Dixon for bibliographical
notes. Above all, thanks are due to Dr. Franz Boas, without whose wise and
helpful enthusiasm this study would never have been undertaken.
... Read more

Product Description
A beginning-level course that emphasizes the development of conversational skills through dialogs and drills. The text includes directed responses, questions and answers, short narratives, and pattern practice. 8 audio CDs (8.5 hrs.) & 431-P. text. Product no. AFHW10D ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Very frustrating for non-Hawaiian beginners
I found 4 great tools for learning Hawaiian, at Amazon.Your success in learning will depend on using them in the right order.They're all great.

Beginner level
1. "Learn Hawaiian at Home", by Kahikahealani Wight
If you're new to the language,this book will walk you patiently through all the basics. Slow? Yes, but it was just what I needed. There are two cassette tapes included, with all the vocabulary, dialogs, reading material and even songs!I found the package reasonably priced.

Beginner to intermediate
2. "Ka Lei Ha'aheao--Beginning Hawaiian", by Alberta Pualani Hopkins
For continuing what you learned in "Learn Hawaiian at Home", this is an excellent book.It will take you all the way through all the Hawaiian grammar, and there are lots and lots of dialogs, giving variations on what you learn.
The downside? Cassette tapes are available, and I know my progress would be much faster if I had the big bucks to buy them. I don't.

Intermediate to advanced
3. Instant Immersion CD
Good points: Very natural-sounding Hawaiian, and lots of it
Downside:If you're a beginner, this will knock the wind out of your sails.The lessons have reading passages, some with very difficult grammar.
No printed matter comes with the CDs. You have to download it from the internet.
Some vocabulary from the lessons are NOT explained. You'll need a big Pukui-Elbert Hawaiian Dictionary to find out the meanings.Not exactly user-friendly!
Still, if you love hearing the lilt ofHawaiian spoken as much as I do,you may opt to get this.

Intermediate to advanced
4. "Let's Speak Hawaiian" by Dorothy M. Kahananui & Alberta P. Anthony
Too difficult for beginners, as it was for me! Explanations are minimal. An exorbitantly-priced tape set is available, but I couldn't afford it.
I was always frustrated with myself for not being able to understand this book. However, after doing a fair amount of learning through the first two books given above,I found that "Let's Speak Hawaiian" is a wonderful extension to what I know. Get this one last!

An excellent approach to learning Hawai'ian
Ecellent approach to the language where the Hawai'ian and English are separated. The movement through the laguage is very practical. Maika'i noo.

A very good book to work with
This is a first-rate book.I certainly recommend it as a good place to start for anyone interested in keeping this beautiful language alive (and it is also is a good point of departure for anyone interested in Polynesian languages in general.)Each lesson begins with a section of sentences that introduce new grammatical patterns as well as new vocabulary,and at the end of each lesson each pattern and each usage is explained very thoroughly.The lessons progress from each one to the next very smoothly.Many of the exercises and drills are clearly intended to be done in a classroom setting,but it isn't too difficult to adapt them to home use. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (1)

Solid reference grammar
This is a clear and concise reference grammar, best used by linguists (or linguists at heart) who wish to access the phonetics, morphology, and syntax of Hawaiian at a glance.It is NOT a teach-yourself guide to Hawaiian.In fact, most of the example words used throughout the grammar are left untranslated.

Again, a good overview of the Hawaiian language but not a good intro for people whose goal is to actually speak and read Hawaiian. ... Read more